If You Get Stopped by Police in This California Town, It Might Not Be for Committing a Crime: 'Positive Ticketing

Police in California are stopping people, but not necessarily because they are speeding, have a tail light out or were committing some sort of crime. The Lompoc Police Department is conducting what's known as "positive ticketing."

That is when police officers who see "some positive behavior and casually contact the person and explain the program, issuing them a voucher for a free Wild West Pizza." You got that right. Instead of issuing tickets, the police are giving out coupons for free pizza.

Wild West Pizza owner Dave Goldy approached the police department with the idea.

"We thought it would be a good thing for kids to look at the police as not someone they need to fear but someone that is there to lookout and to help them," Goldy said, according to WXYZ-TV.

"Positive Tickets is a community program where our patrol officers see kids doing good things like following the traffic laws or helping someone in need and reward them with a voucher for a free one topping personal pizza from Wild West Pizza," a news release about the program stated. "The purpose of Positive Tickets is to build relationships of trust in your community and encourage good behavior."

The news release went on to state that the police hope to build a good rapport with young people in their community by "using a less authoritative approach."

"Hopefully it will give kids a chance to be more approachable to us, communicate with us, and talk to us now, as well as down the road," the news release stated. "And with such an appealing offer of a great tasting pizza, the city's young people may start seeking out police officers in hopes of getting caught."

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